Wednesday, 9 May 2012

Why Rhubarb Can be a No-No on The Arthritis Diet

Rhubarb is one of those tricky medicinal plants that provide
us with a great amount of conflicting research and evidence. It has some great
benefits that include soothing cold sores as well as easing digestive
complaints but there are also a string of negative side effects linked to the
consumption of rhubarb (not to mention that the leaves are considered highly poisonous).

When talking to the owner of the Health Food Shop where we
buy most of our ingredients, he advised us that rhubarb was a bad food for arthritis
sufferers but he didn’t go in to any specific detail. We decided to do some
research of our own...

From combing through an abundance of studies and articles we
have concluded that Rhubarb should only be avoided on the arthritis diet if you
are also taking anti-inflammatory medication and here is why:

Some medications
for inflammation are known to decrease potassium levels in the body. Taking
rhubarb along with these medications might be dangerous as rhubarb is a type of
laxative called a stimulant laxative, these laxatives may also decrease
potassium levels.

So taking
them together could cause a great drop in your body’s level of potassium, which
in turn can lead to a number of symptoms including muscle cramping, nausea and
bloating.

It is
however important to note that symptoms from low potassium are usually very
mild and it would be best for you to consult your doctor or dietician if you have
any further questions. But for us, it stays in the category of foods to AVOID.